1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to real time conversational response verbal interactive toy apparatus capable of providing a selectable playback response to an interrogatory message from a removably insertable magnetic storage medium.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Verbal interactive apparatus for providing playback responses from removably insertable magnetic storage media having a housing for such storage media, such as what are commonly termed cassette records are well known, such as the real time conversational student response teaching apparatus described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,947,972. Under certain circumstances, it is desirable to insure that only properly authorized tapes may be played on a particular verbal interactive playback response apparatus, such as the aforementioned cassette recorder, one such exemplary instance being where the verbal interactive apparatus is rented on a subscription or "pay-for-play" basis and another such exemplary instance being where the verbal interactive playback device is only properly operable to provide a real time conversational response when the storage medium contains a predetermined unique recording format, such as the type of format described in the aforementioned U.S. Pat. No. 3,947,972. Some prior art attempts to provide security for playback of such magnetically recorded storage media or tapes have primarily concentrated on putting some type of sense marking or code on the tape itself. However, this approach has resulted, at times, in distortion of the tape as well as potential problems in properly sensing such codes under erroneous tape playback conditions, such as due to wow and flutter. In addition, if such playback security is desired in a relatively inexpensive verbal interactive toy, then sophisticated security systems cannot economically be utilized as their cost may well exceed the cost of the playback device itself. Moreover, although the verbal interactive apparatus disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,947,972 is quite satisfactory for use in a student response teaching environment, such as in the classroom, the sophistication thereof is not normally desired in a verbal interactive toy, such as due to the economies normally desired in the toy industry. Such a less sophisticated verbal interactive apparatus having the same overall outward conversational response type of effect is not presently available in the prior art to the knowledge of the inventor herein. These disadvantages of the prior art are overcome by the present invention.